The Transcriptome and Metabolome Reveal the Mechanism by Which Melatonin Enhances Drought Tolerance in Platycrater argutae
, Lei Feng 1 and Jian Zheng 1,*
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe introduction section is very clear and concise, yet it addresses all necessary points.
I suggest a separate section in the Materials and Methods section explaining all statistical analyses that were used. Please mention both the software and the tests.
Results are very well written, no repetitions and overwhelming the manuscript, again very clear and concise.
Line 202: correct to 'all groups'.
3.5. Functional Enrichment Analysis of Differentially Expressed Genes - I suggest presenting those results as a table, as it is somewhat difficult to follow in the current state. You could list major findings and add tickmarks in the treatments and combinations where occurred.
Lines 243-251: This part is more appropriate for the introduction or discussion section than the results. Please rephrase to fit results.
The MLT contents across treatment groups were 1.3518 ng/g, 2.0171 ng/g, 11.0537 ng/g, 29.5711 ng/g, and 67.6499 ng/g, showing significant differences.... RESPECTIVELY?
Line 280: Platycrater arguta - italic and abbreviated P. arguta
3.7. KEGG Enrichment Analysis of Tryptophan-Related Differential Metabolites - the same comments as for 3.5. Consider crossing major responses with treatments by tickmarks.
Lines 308 - 311 belong to the instructions by MDPI, please remove.
Line 314: 'significantly inhibited plant growth' - you did not provide any evidence for this, no height measurements, or fresh/dry mass....
The discussion section needs a paragraph addressing the applicability of this study. How to obtain melatonin, is its price acceptable? Is it feasible to consider broader foliar spraying in different conditions, in vivo?
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis manuscript presents an integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis to investigate how melatonin enhances drought tolerance in Platycrater argutae. While the study addresses a timely and relevant topic in plant stress biology, the manuscript requires substantial revisions before it can be considered for publication.
Introduction: The introduction lacks sufficient background and context to clearly justify the study. The authors should provide more detailed information on the physiological and molecular effects of melatonin in plants, particularly in relation to drought stress. In addition, the relevance of P. argutae as a study system should be better articulated, especially its ecological or agronomic significance.
Materials and Methods: The methodology section is currently underdeveloped and lacks critical experimental details. The authors should expand this section to include:
- No description of how physiological traits were measured and analyzed
- Need more details on RNA-seq and metabolomic data analysis
- How melatonin content was analyzed
Results and Data Presentation: The results section would benefit greatly from additional data visualization. Several key findings are presented only in text, making them difficult to evaluate. I recommend including:
- Summary tables of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and metabolites in response to different treatments
- Pathway enrichment figures or heatmaps to enhance interpretability
- Statistical support for all major comparisons. These additions will help strengthen the presentation and impact of the findings.
In summary, while the study has potential, major revisions are necessary to improve the manuscript’s clarity, completeness, and scientific rigor.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThank you for addressing all issues. The paper is now acceptable.
